Reaching for the Sky

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NFL veteran Ian Allen is completing his first year in Krannert's MBA program. (Photo by Mark Simons)

Moving the Line

Spring 2011By William Meiners

Ian Allen was a journeyman lineman when he played in the National Football League. His six-year career included roster spots with the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals. Now back at his alma mater, his journey starts anew as he concludes the first year of the MBA program in the Krannert School.

An undrafted free agent out of Purdue, Allen went from practice squads to a starting position with the Giants, weathering the charge of both defensive ends and the Big Apple media.

“Offensive linemen care about the hard work. Once you take the glitz and glamour off, Purdue’s MBA stands up to any program in the nation.”

Released from the Giants and picked up by the Eagles, he won approval from head coach Andy Reid and helped Philadelphia beat New York in the very same week.

Later he was a player-turned-owner of a United Kingdom semi-professional football team. Having played with the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europa, Allen says, “I realized there was a huge fan base for American football over there.”

But the business realities, especially with running a company overseas, soon hit home. “That was a defining moment when I realized that I was probably out of my league as far as knowing how to run an operation like that.”

Allen, who graduated with a communications degree in 2000, is comfortable in front of a camera, doing analyst work for both Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and the Big Ten Network back home.